Rum Review: Captain Morgan Spiced Rum

Yes you read that right. Von Rum who prides himself on top shelf rums has delved into the realm of Captain Morgan. Yet there is no shame here. This is a well established and very successful rum that, for good or ill has become a part of the American psyche of rum.

With the spirit of A Little Captain in Ya here we go.

Captain Morgan is a medium brown liquid whose aroma screams of vanilla, vanilla, vanilla. If this is spice then so be it. It tastes of vanilla and sugar with little of the dark molasses of rum at all. At 70 proof it is lower than standard rums at 80-100 proof but nonetheless respectable. The warming rum burn is there but so is a soothing sweet essence in the taste. Vanilla shines through. This is true in it’s most tried companion cola and lime, as in other drinks. This sweetness makes Morgan acceptable in various fruit concoctions as well.

While over hyped at college parties and the like von Rum finds Captain Morgan quite enjoyable. With ginger ale and a squeeze of lime as a refresher drink it is superb. With that it is a very good flavoring rum for mixed drinks without being too overpowering and without spending too much. Captain Morgan may have its detractors but in the cocktail world it has its place and should be recongnized.

Three out of five cigars.

Do make this a staple of your rum bar, for any and all mixing.

von Rum

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Rum Review: Cruzan Mango Rum

von Rum is not normally a fan of heavily fruit flavored rums but this one deserves review. We were inspired to try this one by a cocktail from the Mai Tai Bar in Daytona Beach Florida on the beachfront at the Hilton Hotel.

The view was terrific as was the cocktail. One of the ingredients was Mango Rum and as Cruzan is the premium brand in this genre I assume this was the ingredient used.

This clear rum is 27.5% ABV which is about average or slightly above for a liqueur, which this actually is. To the nose you get a strong sense of ripe mango aroma. The taste is no disappointment on mango either. It is of very ripe sweet mango, certainly too cloying for sipping. As a flavoring for cocktails though it is excellent.

This rum is terrific in fruit based cocktails or just with fruit juice. For a tiki bar setting or any of your summertime cooler drinks Cruzan Mango Rum is an excellent choice.

For its kind I give it 4 of 5 cigars.

von Rum

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Autumn Chill and Cockspur Rum

Well it is time for this blog to return briefly to its rum soaked origins.   Autumn is here and after a brief summer like warm streak in the Carolinas there is a chill in the air this morning and the rain is coming down.  It is time for something to warm us up and brace us for the cooler days ahead.  A break from all this political and economic talk is in order and in that spirit I will order up a rum.

The latest is the widely available Cockspur Fine Rum from Barbados. This rum is also marketed as Five Star under the Cockspur name as indicated by their website. Barbados is widely regarded as the home of rum and this product does not dampen that reputation.
It is an amber rum, the hue of sourwood honey. In fact on opening the bottle you do get a sense of honey and vanilla aromas. Strangely I noted an unusual marine note in there as well. I cannot explain it but hidden in back of those sweet notes you get the sensation of standing on a dock by the sea. Maybe the rum is getting to me.

On tasting this rum much of the honey and vanilla disappear as they are overpowered by the American oak the rum is aged in. Still it has a smooth taste with little spice and a not unpleasant warmth going down. The aftertaste brings back some of the vanilla notes.

Overall Cockspur is a solid golden rum. The aromas are very good, the taste solid if a little one dimensional. It would make a good on the rocks rum and a very good mixing rum. Not the greatest after dinner rum but by no means a bad choice for everyday and cocktails.

Three out of Five Cigars.

von Rum

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